Rules fine for two reasons...

It acts as a filter for many people (including psychological) before they're allowed into the pointy end of a transport jet in a 121 operation.

Due to differences in the training methods between the FAA and JAA systems it helps maintain an overall equivalent level of safety.

Plus the money is great now that you can't just pull a guy off the street and have a pilot in 9 months - companies need to start thinking sustainably instead of trying to race each other to the bottom in the name of investor worship and quarterly results.